The present invention relates to hen nesting apparatus, and also to a method for utilizing such apparatus for broody (nesting) control and other controls of hens according to criteria applicable to individual hens. The invention is particularly (but not exclusively) useful with respect to turkey hens and is therefore described below in connection with this application.
Nesting apparatus is known, e,g., as described in Israel Patent 52211 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,911), for turkey hens which include a line of nesting cages and an ejector assembly in each cage actuatable to eject a hen from the cage. In these known constructions, the ejector assemblies of all the cages are actuated at the same times according to fixed intervals (e.g., at 45-minute intervals). Such constructions therefore do not maximize the use of the nesting cages. Moreover, the current methods of broody control generally deal with the flocks as a whole, and therefore do not maximize the egg output of the individual hens within a flock.